Study: Ephedra Can Be Deadly

T R E N T O N, N.J., Nov. 6 -- Ephedra, an herbal stimulant used bymillions of Americans for bodybuilding and weight loss, can causecatastrophic complications, including heart attacks, stroke,seizures and death, researchers say.

They conclude the popular dietary supplement, also known as mahuang and often also containing caffeine, poses a risk that faroutweighs the small benefits, if any, the supplement offers.

Problems Uncommon, But Dangerous

“They’re uncommon events, but they’re serious,” said seniorresearcher Dr. Neal L. Benowitz, chief of clinical pharmacology atUniversity of California at San Francisco. “The substance isunreasonably hazardous as marketed.”

Benowitz and Dr. Christine A. Haller, a clinical fellow at theuniversity, both noted most of the cases they studied involvedyoung, healthy people struck with side effects while using ephedra.Some had been taking the daily supplement for just days or weeks,and two women who became pregnant while taking it lost theirbabies.

The research appears in the New England Journal of Medicine, which moved up release of the study to today because of theimportance of the finding.

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Also today, the Food and Drug Administration warned Americansnot to use over-the-counter cold remedies or appetite suppressantsuntil their makers replace an ingredient that could cause strokes.FDA said it is taking steps to formally ban phenylpropanolamine, orPPA, which is a chemical cousin to the types of ephedra found inthe weight loss and bodybuilding products the Californiaresearchers studied.

Causing Complications

They reviewed records from 140 ephedra users who sufferedcomplications between June 1997 and March 1999, finding aboutone-third of the problems definitely or probably were caused by theephedra and another third possibly were caused by it. In one-fifthof the cases, there was insufficient information to drawconclusions, and the rest were deemed unrelated to ephedra use.

Dr. Steven Karch, an expert on drug-related deaths working forthe Ephedra Education Council, a group funded by supplement makers,said in some of the cases he believes pre-existing health problemssuch as heart disease, not ephedra, caused the complications. Healso noted that the FDA’s outside experts get research funding fromthe federal government.